


feel the wind passing through my fingers

by softtofustew



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Cute, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Jaehyungparkian, M/M, brian screws up and jae gets involved in it oops, implied sexual content but nothing graphic, side dopil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 09:53:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14913173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softtofustew/pseuds/softtofustew
Summary: an accidental discovery led to the time(s) of their lives, feat. time traveller!brian and a clueless roommate!jae





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> heyo !! it's my first jaehyungparkian and fun fact: it's expanded from my english exam paper essay oOPS HAHA hope yall enjoy it

for the longest time ever, jae couldn't put a finger on his roommate. ever since brian - sweaty, wide-eyed, puffing like he'd just completed a 5km marathon - had appeared at his doorstep, forced smile plastered across his face, jae knew something was pretty fishy.

now, jae, sprawled across his bed, lifts his head drowsily to watch on as brian darts from corner to corner of the room, beads of perspiration falling to the floor in succession tirelessly. ever since he'd awoken, his roommate had already started at it, frantically scouring through the cupboard for something.

for what jae has no idea.

he hears the other muttering, “where is it, where is it?” under his breath as he now begins wrenching drawers open in search of, well, whatever it is he's finding.

“you know,” jae starts, as he sits up from his position on the bed, “maybe if you told me what this thing is, i can help you find it?”

from where he is at the drawers of underwear, brian glances up. if jae were to strip away that part of brian’s personality, always frantic and panicky at the slightest disturbance, he has to admit brian is pretty hot. like, how the _fuck_ does someone pull off bright red hair dye and light pink skinny jeans at the same time? “no,” he snaps back in one sharp syllable, before diving back into his ardous search.

jae rolls his eyes, knowing his offer of help is now awkwardly lingering in the air. sighing, he scrambles to his feet, only to feel pain shooting up his big toe. “ouch, ouch, shit,” jae hisses, before bending down to pick up the offender.

to his surprise and confusion, in his fingers is a small red box, on it carved the tiniest, most intricate designs he's ever seen in his life.

at the sound of jae’s pain, brian rushes over to him, almost bowling him over. when his eyes land on the tiny box, brian stares at it, before glancing back up at jae. “where the hell did you find this?”

at this point, jae attempts to connect the dots forming. wait one goddamn second. “is this a… ring?” jae sputters.

out of all people, brian, _the_ brian kang, _phone technician_ brian, is in a relationship?

“what?” brian replies, puzzled. “no. why would i have a wedding ring?”

“i dunno,” jae shrugs, a sly grin slowly forming across his face. he watches as a light pink begins dusting brian's cheeks. oh, he's _so_ lying. jae wraps an arm around brian's shoulders. (jae doesn't remember his shoulders being this broad… okay, sure, sue jae for having a shoulder kink.) “maybe you want to propose to someone and you're not telling me?”

for a second, brian just stares at jae in complete shock, before tsking and shrugging jae's arm off. “shut up, man. you know i’m not dating anyone.”

“oh, are you?” jae chuckles, wiggling his eyebrows. he likes seeing brian so flustered like this. glancing down slightly at him, jae turns the box in his hand. “why don't i open this box and see for myself the truth?”

before brian can spit out a protest, jae flicks the box open, only to be left puzzled at the contents of the box. it's empty, except for a screen with four numbers blinking rapidly on them.

 _2134_.

jae lifts the box to brian's eye level. “what is this, man?” he demands, but to both boys’ surprise, a monotonous voice beeps from the box.

 _T0045. identified_.

“fuck, fuck,” brian murmurs, his hands reaching out to yank the box away from jae's fingers, but before he can do that, white light blinds them. then pitch black darkness.

+

the next time jae wakes up, he sees brian in a bright red uniform hovering over his body. jae lies there against the hard floor, watching silently as brian bites his lip. his eyes trace to the box wrapped in the white knuckles of his roommate, before averting his gaze back to brian. “i…”

he struggles to raise himself on his elbows, before taking a glimpse at his surroundings. to say that he is shell-shocked is a complete abomination of an understatement, for the four walls enclosing them are in fact, a bedroom. a bedroom of sorts.

the bed hovers from the ceiling like a hammock, creaking as it swings. shirts and pants are in a disarray all over the carpeted floor. boxes and boxes of god knows what teeter, stacked high against the walls of the bedroom. all in all, it's a weird bedroom. like a mixture of a what you'd expect a teen bedroom and a newly moved in house.

when jae glances back at brian, he then realises the screen blinking behind brian. _2134_. and underneath, in smaller numbers: _17:43:09._

“woah, hold the _fuck_ up.” in a flash, jae is on his feet, exchanging glances from the screen to brian, to the bedroom, then back to brian, before jabbing a forefinger against the other boy's uniformed chest. “where are we? where is this place? and what the fuck are you wearing?”

his mind spins, barely able to take this all in. and that stupid fact that no matter how much jae wants to deny it, the ugly piece of blood red shit brian's wearing actually looks good, looks striking and wraps perfectly around his body and limbs.

 _focus, jae, focus_.

the lethargy in his tone is evident as brian sighs, wrapping his warm hand around jae's wrist still pointing objectively at his chest. _badum, badum_. “look, this is going to sound absurd. so i think you should-”

“-look, i can take it. whatever this is,” jae shoots back, waving a hand dismissively at the bedroom when he emphasises 'this’. “it's just…”

like a turn of the key in the lock, finally, jae realises. he knows. the pieces of the puzzle lay themselves down in an orderly fashion: the box, the numbers on the screen, the uniform, the same numbers displayed on the screen in front of them, the rather futuristic bed seeming to defy gravity hovering above the ground…

“no. you're not telling me-”

“-thats it's the future?” brian finishes, his face blank. emotionless.“i am telling you that.”

jae feels his heart pounding even harder. “no. what… what year is it?”

“bingo,” brian says. as helpless as he feels, he offers a small smile. “it's 2134, you dumbass.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i don't care where we go/it doesn't matter if it's not far

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter twoo :)) i really hope yall are enjoying this lMAO

to say brian is in deep shit is actually a pretty bad understatement. 

as brian stares at jae, confusion scribbled all over his face, he remembers the exact day when he got assigned to him. of all people, sungjin, executive manager, had assigned brian kang younghyun, two-time failure with an itchy head after he'd dyed his hair red to match the uniform, to the task. an immediate regret of sorts, more to say.

“i don't know if i can do it,” brian had protested, his hands wrapped tightly around the red box.

sungjin, sat directly opposite him in his office, had sighed, before plastering a grin and saying, “you'll do good, brian. i trust you.”

brian still remembers how he'd activated the box wrongly, and instead of setting it to the year 2018, had sent himself back in time in the middle of a goddamned world war two in goddamned germany, the sound of bombs setting off scaring him half to his death.

he'd hidden himself for a whole 24 hours, impatiently waiting for the tiny box to recharge, before actually managing to escape to 2018, narrowly missing a gunshot to the head at the sight of the red-haired foreigner in the middle of an old battleground.

explains the panic the day he'd appeared at jae’s front door.

now, brian stands, exactly 103 days after that faithful day, staring right back at park jaehyung, his lips pressed thinly together in a straight line.

“no. fucking. way.” jae murmured, before running a hand through his hair, dyed blonde with the sight of his dark roots. brian kind of likes this hair colour, as compared to his own stupid one. “you're telling me, that we travelled to the goddamned  _ future _ ?”

“i guess?” brian squirms. shit. he should've known this would happen, what with his clumsiness and loss of overprotectiveness over his own belongings, especially the time box. should've known his own assignment would step over it and think it was a wedding ring.

ha, brian thinks. as if he could get himself a date, let alone a relationship.

jae looks at him. as if he's seeing brian for the first time all over again. when brian had showed up at his doorstep, jae had been wearing his thin, rose-gold glasses askew, his hair ruffled soft, his ripped jeans bearing holes which showed off the pale skin of his thighs. when they had sat down at the couch, brian had to restrain himself for feeling just how smooth jae’s skin was.

sue brian for thinking his assignment is kinda hot.

“do you, like, travel through time or something, brian?” jae questions, his voice evidently hesitant as he says the words, as if doubting his own self. how jae hasn't lost his mind over this reality of time travel actually impresses brian. if it were brian he'd probably be throwing himself off a cavern at the moment.

brian sighs. again. the grip on the box in his palm tightens. “yeah. i'm actually from here. the 22nd century, that is.”

jae plays with the hem of his t-shirt. “then why room with me in 2018?”

“because.” brian shudders. gathers his composure. pulls himself together. “look, it's a long story-”

“-but we have time, don't we?” jae interrupts, crossing his arms over his chest. the determination in his voice renders brian speechless; he knows he can't hide it anymore. “tell me. the whole story. now.”

+

“wait, wait, wait, so,” jae says, leaning back on brian's hammock bed. “basically, y'all are pulling experiments to travel back in time, for research and first-hand experience…?”

“of real-life situations in the past,” brian finishes, wringing his hands together. “research purposes.” he adjusts his collar itching into his neck. “life still thrives here, but we live entirely off of renewable energy now. we try and be more simplistic about life, to sustain life. we want to know about what life was like in the past. yeah, we have records, but they're not the same as actually living in the moment, and actually collecting stuff from the past instead of sitting around waiting for fossils to appear.”

“huh. explains this hammock bed,” jae replies, patting the bedsheets. at first glance, brian thinks jae’s just feeling the texture of the sheets, but then realises he means for his roommate to sit down beside him.

brian plops down beside jae, sighing deeply.

“so what now?” jae asks after a long moment. brian turns to meet his gaze.

brian shrugs. “we wait.” he lifts the box up to jae, shaking it a little in his sight. “this baby needs 24 hours to recharge before we can reuse it again.”

“so _that_ explains why you seem to be gone for whole days! i thought you were pulling all-nighters as a pho-”

a few loud thumps against the mahogany wood of brian's front door cut jae off. startled, jae squeaks a bit. brian scrambles to his feet, realisation dawning upon him.

“we're fucked. shit.” brian runs a hand through his hair, catching sight of the wristband on his right hand. he groans. “of course,” he mutters irately, before yanking the wristband off and making a mad dash to the window, before hurtling the wristband off into the grass below them.

“what the fuck, brian, who's at the door?” jae hisses, now cowering behind the bed, watching brian with crazed eyes. “why did you just-”

“shut up,” brian reprimands harshly, before taking note of his tone. he stoops to a softer but sterner voice. “the wristband tracks my movements. i'm not supposed to be back till next week with another report.”

“you write reports about me and my life? isn't that _stalking_?”

“not now!” brian shoots back. “security's outside. i need to hide out.”

the pounding on the door intensifies. “hello? T0045? brian? kang younghyun? we know you're in there. we need to question you.”

“i am so going to get fired for this,” brian grumbles, before gesturing madly to jae to follow closely with him. to jae's complete shock, brian lifts a trapdoor hidden perfectly invisibly in the metal plankwork of the floor.

“get in, i know where we can hide out,” brian instructs, before diving down the trapdoor.

above him, jae trembles a little. “not sure if i've told you before, bribri, but i'm slightly scared of the dark.”

“i know. you keep your night light on when you sleep,” brian counters, before stretching out two hands for jae to hold onto. for a moment, brian lets himself feel the warmth of jae's calloused skin, the slender fingers grabbing onto brian's own knobbly ones. calloused from guitar playing, yet warm. perfect fit.

but brian abandons the thought the second jae leaps down and brian shuts the trapdoor above them, before leading the other boy through a labyrinth of alleys to his best friend: kim wonpil.

+

out of every inhabitant of the south korea of 2134, brian has to befriend kim wonpil: a dropout from college, wonpil had failed a practical to travel back to 1450, culminating in a catastrophe of sorts. now, he owns a workshop of trinkets and fixes time boxes, with a side special of sweaters he knits when he's free. and whilst brian loves taunting wonpil about his knitting, he has to admit - that pink checkered one is pretty striking.

when brian and jae appear at wonpil’s workshop in sheer exhaustion, wonpil, goggles crookedly sitting atop his brown hair, can't help but gasp aloud. the box in his hands clatters to the ground. “brian kang younghyun, please tell me this is not what i'm seeing right now,” he whispers loudly.

brian rolls his eyes at his friend, the dramatist, before brian shoving past wonpil, dragging jae inside, then shutting the door and flipping the sign. 'closed’. “unfortunately, pillie, it is.” he turns to face the two of them. “wonpil, meet jae, aka my assignment. jae, meet wonpil. if you think i fail as a time traveller i should tell you about-”

“-brian!” wonpil interrupts, outraged. “don't you think this is risky? why did you bring him here?”

“do you _think_ i wanted to bring him to 2134?” brian responds, the tiredness showing in his voice. “look,” he begins, exasperated. “i'm being chased by security, because this dude decided to fish my time box out-”

“-technically, you lost it-”

“-whatever,” brian grumbles, hand wiping the moisture from his face. “the point is, he accidentally lifted it to my eye and it got activated. landed both of us here. whoops.”

wonpil sighs, crossing his arms across his chest. jae takes note that whilst brian wears a bright red uniform, wonpil wears a blue one, equally radiant. noticing his confusion, wonpil speaks up.

“red uniforms are for time travellers. purple uniforms for those who work directly under government, like security. blue ones are for us workshop tinkers. yellow for the entertainers, like rock bands, actors, etc. green for the noobs. the regular working citizens.”

“wow,” jae comments, before turning to take in his surroundings. shelves pile high with boxes and boxes of… he then realises that they’re of the same design as brian’s time box. other metal trinkets lay pristinely, like ornaments of some sort, in window cases displayed around the shop. brian watches as he stands, mouth open, staring at wonpil's collection of sweaters hung at the display window.

whilst jae absorbs his new surroundings, wonpil turns to brian. “hyung, you know you're in deep shit. right?”

brian rolls his eyes. “sorry, watson, i kinda figured that out already.”

“you know you're supposed to take care of your time box and not lose it, let alone suck your assignment along with you.”

“says the guy who blew up a mountain back in the scotland of 1450.”

wonpil blushes hard. “shut up.” 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i don't care if it's not for long/there's no need to rush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmm i think another two or three chapters should do the trick. any criticism is welcome !!

“so, how now?” jae asks, strolling into the spare bedroom above wonpil's workshop after a shower, towel in hand, a disgustingly bright green uniform hanging off his lanky frame. goddamn, jae can't be any more grateful that he's already dead by 2134 in actuality. the clothes are hideous.

brian glimpses up from where he's lying on the bed, toying with the time box. “waiting, i guess. and by the way, that uniform-”

“-is horrid, i know-”

“-i was about to say that it looks pretty good on you, but if that's what you say, whatever.” he then turns his attention back to the time box, leaving jae a mad pink blush all over.

“oh.” jae scratches his head as he sets the towel down on a chair, before he shuffles over to the bed to sit down beside brian. he splays his long legs out across the bed, allowing them to dangle over the edge.

it's brian's turn to blush.

there's no denying that every day with jae has had a growing effect on brian. the day brian knew he was fucked was the day he had burnt his hand trying to fry eggs in the morning for the both of them. at the sound of his cry, jae had awoken from his sleep, groggily rubbing his eyes.

“you're so careless, man,” jae had tutted. he hadn't even bothered to pull on a shirt as he pulled out the first aid kit from the cupboard and tended to his roommate. brian hadn't known what to feel, whether to be embarrassed by his hopelessness in cooking, whether to feel shy by his shirtless presence, or whether to feel touched by his act of kindness. maybe all three seems like the right idea.

afterward, jae had finished up the cooking, and set the plate of eggs and a glass of orange juice in front of brian, before plopping down opposite him.

“thanks, jae,” brian had murmured. jae had shown off his slow, lazy grin, the one he shows when he tells you a good joke, or one he shows when he's content about something; the one brian had grown fond of seeing almost every day.

“no problem, bribri,” jae had said, the nickname slipping off of his tongue for the first time. noticing brian freezing, jae loosened. “oh. you don't want me to call you that? sorry, just that-”

"-no, it's fine,” brian had murmured back, his head lighter than ever, and not just from the earlier burn. “i like that. bribri.”

and then jae had laughed his laugh, all full and content and just. lovely.

brian knew it was about then he'd fallen right for jae, no matter how stupid the decision was.

“earth to brian.”

brian jolts from his daze, snapping to attention. “y-yeah?” he stutters, glancing at jae sat arm-to-arm beside him.

about a week after brian had known his feelings for jae, he'd decided, why not drop the most subtle of hints? might as well have the best sex of his life for a year before he moves off to another assignment in the other side of the world. not exactly sensible, but worthwhile.

but either brian isn't being obvious enough, or jae just doesn't give a shit. or maybe jae's just plain clueless, because jae hasn't made a single move on him before. and what for? jae’s an all-ladies (and probably men) kind of guy; why stick around kang younghyun for?

jae yawns, stretching an arm out to wrap around brian's shoulder. (brian may just melt into a puddle of nothing soon.) “i asked you, how's life here in the 22nd century? anything different, other than the jobs and skylines and lifestyles and shitty uniforms?”

“oh.” brian shifts in his position on the bed. he has to pull himself back from leaning onto the other's arm. “well… nothing much, i guess. we still eat, drink and sleep as usual.”

jae snorts. “well, the future seems kinda boring to me now.”

brian gives a small smile. the thought at the back of his head still niggles at him, and he lets the words tumble from his lips before he can stop them. “doesn't it… aren't you weirded out? by the fact that i basically record my daily lifestyle? about you?”

jae mumbles something incoherent as he thinks, before he forms words. “well, i guess after a long while i've kind of just accepted this. time travel seems pretty cool, anyways. i know y'all travellers are doing this because it's your job, as long as you don't happen to take nudes of me while i shower and send them to your boss.” at this, jae giggles, before leaning into brian.

so close to him that brian's scared that jae can hear his heart beating so fast.  _ badum. badum _ .

“nope i don't,” brian replies, all the while trying to keep his tone casual, nonchalant, devoid of any emotion.

"obviously,” jae murmurs against brian's uniform, and it's a miracle he's keeping himself together all the while.

for a few moments, they lay like that, jae's head against brian's chest, their legs naturally entangled with each other.

this is it, brian thinks. he's going to confess, he's going to pour his heart out to jae and they're going to-

“oh, i think it's almost fully recharged,” jae suddenly shatters the moment, before retrieving his arm to take the time box from brian's grasp, carefully examining it. “legit, though, this box is pretty cool. does it have a gps chip in it too? in case it tracks us?”

“i don't think so,” brian hesitantly answers, because he himself isn't so sure. the only chip he knows is installed in his wristband, and god knows where that is now. he shoves the ominous feeling building up in his gut away, not wanting to ruin his already quite cruddy mood.

at about that same time, wonpil enters the room. “hey, i made dinner. come down.”

“okay,” jae answers gleefully, before disentangling himself from brian's hold on him and leaping after wonpil in search for food, leaving brian a puddle of emotions in his wake.

+

when brian shuffles into the kitchen, wonpil turns to face his friend, beaming as he stretches out another tiny box.

“so, while you were away again, i tinkered a bit more and i finally reduced recharge time to 18 hours instead of 24. neat, right?” wonpil grins, showing off his latest creation to brian.

“huh,” brian says, shifting his own time box in his right palm. “damn, wonpil. that's pretty cool.”

“i know right?” wonpil giggles softly, before taking brian's time box from his fingers. “by the way, did you deactivate your box?”

what? “no…?”

in a split second, wonpil's eyes widen with shock, his panic evident in his facial expression. “dude! security will total you. don't you know there's a gps chip in the time box?”

jae had been right. goddammit.

from the dining table, jae glimpses up from his plate of fried sausages. “brian! you said there wasn't-”

someone pounds on the door heavily.  _ fuck _ .

“hello? T0045? W0013? are either of you in there?” a deep voice thunders from outside the door, shattering whatever peace left inside the kitchen.

as the pounding continues outside, wonpil hurriedly turns to the both of them. “you two, hide in my bedroom. i'll try and buy us some time, okay?”

the two boys make a mad dash to wonpil's bedroom upstairs, hearing the creak of the metal door open and wonpil's loud, “oh my gosh! dowoonie, how long has it been?”

at the sight of his childhood crush, dowoon suddenly lowers his guard, and in his purple uniform, blushes harder than he has in a long while. wonpil really grew up and looks even more gorgeous in his windswept hair and boxy smile. and, damn, that voice... man, dowoon should've asked him out years ago. maybe one day soon. just not now.

“h-hey, pillie,” he greets back, the nickname still familiar on his lips. god, has it really been four years? “g-goose, i mean, g-good to see you.” damn wonpil and his ability to send dowoon stammering like a one-year-old learning the alphabet.

well aware of the crush dowoon had on him, wonpil giggles gleefully before leaning against the door. “so, what brings you here? i didn't know you worked under security now.”

“i didn't know you worked here either,” dowoon replies. he curses himself. he literally lives, like, eight minutes away from wonpil! goddamn him and his stupidly busy schedule.

upstairs, brian and jae shudder in the darkness of wonpil's walk-in wardrobe, both cowering in a corner.

jae hisses in the darkness, “don't you know your own time box? how can you forget that it has a gps chip?”

brian groans in response. “look, i'm sorry i fell asleep in  _ time and trinkets _ class back in upper sixth, okay? that class was boring as hell; i didn't know i’d end up here.”

“what happens,” jae gulps, “if we get caught? what will happen to me? to you?”

the seriousness of the consequences sinks in heavily, enveloping the two in tension. brian nervously combs his hair with his fingers. “look, i don't think this has ever happened before - i'm pretty careless - but i think there was one time when time travel just kicked in. T0005 accidentally brought back his assignment, too.”

"shit,” jae says grimly. his eyes are almost watery. brian wants to wipe his tears away. “what happened then?”

“i-”

just then, the door to the wardrobe flings open and in walks dowoon, a flushed wonpil behind him, who mouths a “sorry!” behind dowoon.

“T0045. subject park jaehyung. please follow me.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tonight, we'll be together under that sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> drawing to an end :')) this one's pretty groundbreaking + climactic so i do hope yall enjoy this one !! lots of fluff and lobster in this one

one thing brian knows about sungjin is that he can't tolerate dire mistakes. especially since brian had already screwed up past assignments, but never this stupidly. and one more thing: it’s not like sungjin is known for his high tolerance level. it’s more of the opposite.

“look, i can explain,” brian blurts out the second he and jae enter the office, sungjin sat at his table looking pissed. peeved. with a sliver of… fright?

however, before brian can explain, sungjin holds up a hand, exasperation etched into his face. “brian. don't.”

a lump forms at the back of his throat as brian takes a seat opposite sungjin, with jae awkwardly sliding into the seat beside him. sungjin shoots a look at jae, before glancing back at brian. he leans back in his chair, allowing a few seconds to pass, before opening his mouth.

“i know i said i trusted you, brian.”

yeah. about that.

sungjin clears his throat before continuing. “i know shit happens, but i didn't expect you to make such a huge blow-up of this situation. i'm not angry, and i'm not disappointed. just, well, _tired_.” he rubs his temples. “i was hoping maybe you could redeem yourself in this assignment. i guess things can't go the way we both expected.”

that's a huge blow to brian, and he has to refrain his tears from spilling down his cheeks.

“what's going to happen to jae?” brian questions softly, his voice trembling.

sungjin casts a glance at jae. “the same done to kevin some ten years ago. we erase his memory.”

brian hears jae gasp in shock. he can feel jae's eyes on brian, but he can't work up the courage to look back. coward.

it's all his fault.

+

once they leave the office, jae sinks into a plastic chair outside, his head buried in his hands. brian can't bear but to look away, lest jae sees his tears.

a moment passes.

brian wonders what would've happened if he'd taken good care of his time box, like the oath prescribes. maybe he could've worked up the courage to ask jae out. spend a couple more nights in front of the telly with him watching cheesy romcoms and soap operas, rating each one out of ten. head to a theme park with him, screaming at the rollercoasters with him. dyed their hair matching colours.

all this, and brian's gone and ruined it.

“bribri.”

brian doesn't dare to turn around, only swipes away at his tears running continuously down his cheeks. he doesn't turn around when he hears the familiar squeak of jae's washed out sneakers against the tiled floor, doesn't turn around until jae grabs ahold of his shoulders and spins him around himself.

“fuck, please don't cry,” jae murmurs, lifting the sleeve of his uniform to dab at his tears. brian lets out a wrecked sob before breaking into tears again.

this is the worst he's fucked up. ever. period.

jae sighs. “look, brian. here's what we're going to do. we're not going to cry over the death of my memory of you for the rest of the day until its actual death tomorrow. we're not going to argue about whose fault it is and how we should've fixed this problem.” he gives a small smile. “instead, we're going to spend the rest of the day doing stuff. you're going to show me around seoul. you're going to tell me about the music and the people in 2134. you're going to spend the last few hours with me and i don't care if i'm going to annoy the hell out of you. okay?”

brian grins. leave it to jae to blow him away with his words. taking it as a yes, jae wraps an arm around the other's shoulder and leads him out of the headquarters building.

+

admittedly, brian has never really lived, like,  _ lived _ , in the seoul of 2134, only concentrated with his numerous tasks and assignments either indoors or sometime in the past. as he and jae stroll along the walkways, he watches jae point out the vehicles whizzing past them, tiny and compact to reduce space needed to park them. he watches jae stare in awe at the skyscrapers, in jae’s words, ‘almost penetrating the clouds’, glistening in the skyline. he watches jae giggle at the people strolling around in their uniforms. (“god, this place is so controlling. in a radical way, of course.”)

as the night air sinks in, jae drags brian into a lobster restaurant. (“but we just had dinner!” “really?” jae had countered. “i think your park boss kind of took away my stomach.”) brian doesn’t do much eating, and instead, seated opposite of jae, gazes at jae gobbling away, ranting on about how good the lobster tastes, and how cheap it is - even though it’s technically brian paying for the meal, but whatever.

“you can stop staring at me, creep,” jae mumbles in between mouthfuls. “you already write goddamned reports about me, what else do you want?”

brian chuckles. “just want to memorise your face a bit more. i’m probably never going to see you again, you know.”

“huh,” jae answers, puzzled. “will park boss, like, terminate your contract or something? demote you to trash collector? secretary-that-gets-bossed-around-a-lot?”

the other boy stays silent for a bit, thinking it over. “i don’t know, but i have a feeling i’m definitely not travelling for a while,” brian finally replies, sighing deeply.

“huh,” jae says again, before sighing and shoving his plate away. “look, bribri, how about we head back to wonpil’s? i’ve something to tell ya.”

brian feels the heat flowing up to his head; he feels lighter than before. “oh. yeah, sure. um.”

he awkwardly stands, then sits back down. stands again.

bottom line: he doesn’t know what to do.

laughing, jae stands, grabbing brian’s hand once again. the last time they’d held hands, it was brief, just a helping hand. now, brian tries hard to memorise the trace of the skin enveloping his own, the callouses and curves of the hand that belongs to jae.

“c’mon. let’s go.”

+

“damn, a rooftop,” jae mutters as he pushes the door open. surprisingly, the future still holds onto the sound of crickets chirping away happily. their fingers still intertwined, jae leads brian to the railing, the twinkling silver skyline of seoul staring right back at them. brian realises then from here, the world seems so much bigger than he thinks it is: skeletons of future buildings still in the making, even more lack of greenery, half moon peeking out desperately amongst huge clouds in the dark blue blanket above them.

turning to face jae, brian asks, “so. what do you want to tell me?”

“hm.” jae grins (brian will never forget that grin. ever.) “maybe i’ll just push you off and get this over and done with?”

“don’t play dirty,” brian replies with mock solemnity, though he cracks a smile.

jae chuckles, before turning to face the skyline. brian watches him, the light from the moon creating shadows upon the planes of his face. and he listens.

“even though my memory is getting erased, i can’t help but think that these past few months have been pretty cool hanging out with a roommate-turned-secret-agent-slash-time-traveller,” jae finally says. “it’s kind of harsh, honestly, but at least,” jae pauses, before glimpsing at brian, “at least i got to know you, i got to know the future, i got to know all about the world in a couple more years. even though the memory of all that’s gonna be gone from my head...”

brian doesn’t even notice how close they are until he feels jae’s chest against his own. his body burns. both of their bodies burn with warmth. and flesh. and blood. _and heart._

“i think, truly, my memory of you can stay right in my heart.”

jae’s lips are chapped, but they burn against brian’s, harshly, with so much emotion brian can’t imagine, he can’t take it all in. their lips part, then meet again, whilst their hands roam each other’s bodies; brian plants his hands firmly on jae’s hips, jae’s hands weave themselves around brian’s shoulders (shoulder kink, remember?) and in brian’s awfully, awfully, dyed hair.

breaths are short, heavy, every few moments they part, every time coming back stronger and more insistent. jae slips his tongue first, and the other’s knees almost give way at the sensation of it all. it hurts, all of it hurts with too much and not enough passion.

“god, jae,” brian groans against their lips. he can’t register the feel of his hands, or legs, or head, only the feel of his lips crushing against jae’s. “jae, jae, jae.”

“bribri,” jae whispers back, his fingers now playing with the strands of hair at the nap of the traveller’s neck. “brian. will you do me the honour of bringing this to the bedroom?”

“shit.” brian can’t believe it - is he hearing right? “shit. a thousand times yes.”

the two giggle, stumbling back downstairs into the spare bedroom. they go slow, teasing each other languidly, knowing each other better before syncing with the rhythm of slow songs played in the background, courtesy of brian the romantic. they go slow. and why not?

they’ve got all the time in their hands.

+

it doesn’t matter if we stay up all night.

there’s no one to care about.

tonight, we’ll be together under that sky.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so be free, don't worry about tomorrow/don't have a single care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter!! epilogue now. honestly i feel pretty eh about this work but all's okay in the end i guess. i really hope you guys enjoy this one. a gentle reminder that this takes place one year after :)) happy reading!

_one year later // september 2019_

“happy birthday to me,” jae sighs, blowing out the single candle awkwardly atop the slice of red velvet cake, before stabbing it with a plastic fork. he slumps into his chair before digging in, knowing that his other friends won’t come around till night. what a bunch of sleepy heads.

as he takes another bite, jae glances at the digital clock on the wall. 11:11. hah, he thinks. how ironic, how he didn’t even wish for anything before blowing out the flame.

make a wish now, i guess.

jae takes a look around the kitchen, wondering what he can possibly wish for (a new stove? another ‘worker of the month’ mug? tickets to hawaii?) before his eyes land on a sticky note on the fridge he doesn’t remember putting the night before (yes, he keeps track of his sticky notes, they’re yellow for heaven’s sake. this one’s red.) he traipses over to the fridge before peeling the note off.

_happy birthday - bribri_

the words form and collapse and reform in jae’s head. who’s bribri? yet his gut swirls with the weird familiarity of the name - a nickname, more precisely. _what?_   
  
“i must be going loco,” jae mumbles under his breath, before sticking the note back on. if he’s interested enough, he’ll run forensics on the fingerprints on this guy, because, frankly, he seems to remember and not remember everything and nothing recently, ever since he’d woken up last year with the maddest headache, followed by the dirtiest fever. goddamn, he shivers every time he thinks of it.

not because of the pain in his head, though. more because of the weird pain in his chest. his heart.

the seconds tick by. and then that’s it - jae knows what to wish for.

“i wish… i wish that i can remember.”

+

it’s merely an hour later, an hour of watching breakfast at tiffany’s (again) when the doorbell rings, the sound reverberating throughout the house. baffled, jae has to recheck the time. barely 1 pm.

the doorbell goes off again, and jae heaves himself off of the couch. “coming!” he screams at the top of his lungs. not the best choice; his neighbours will question him tomorrow.

he hurries to the door, in the process banging his big toe against that stupid umbrella rack. “shit, ow!” he hisses. but the second the pain is registered, his head hurts mightily again, so much that jae clutches onto his head and groans. a sliver of a memory flashes into his mind and then out. in and out. _red hair. red box. then darkness._

“goddamn,” jae grumbles, itching his head. he makes a mental note to head to the psychiatrist tomorrow again, because he really can’t be having these random memories that aren’t even memories.

he opens the door. “what’s good, brother, you’re pretty damn early-”

jae stops in his tracks at the stranger at his door, dressed in a white tee and ripped denim jeans, his hair a dark brown and looks as if he’d gone through a washing machine. high cheekbones, radiant eyes. eyes…

_“i like that. bribri.”_

“h-hey,” jae greets cautiously. _this boy is smoking hot-_ “uh, do i know you or something? sorry if that’s rude, but, i don’t think i’m expecting a delivery?”

the stranger chuckles, deep and low. oh, damn. “hey,” he greets back. “good to see you, too, jae.”

“wait, hold up, but man, do i know you?” jae’s head is spinning even faster. snippets of pictures collide with each other over and over again - of people, of sweaters, of skylines -  and he has to lean against the doorway to support himself. dizzy. confused.

noticing his posture, the stranger supports jae up, grabbing ahold of his arms. “woah, steady. let me take you in.”

within a few minutes, jae’s lying on his worn-out couch with said stranger hovering over him, pressing a wet cloth over jae’s head. the familiarity of the position blurs jae’s vision for a while, before clearing again to reveal a pair of concerned eyes watching over jae. as his head clears, too, jae supports himself up onto his elbows.

"who are you?” jae says. he doesn’t mean it to be a whisper, but it’s like this boy came in and stole a bit of his voice.

the stranger smiles. “brian. i’m brian.”

brian.

_T0045._

“what?” jae blinks. the memories rush at him even more rapidly now.

of roommates, of kisses, of promises.

without realising, tears are forming in jae’s eyes, and he wipes them away. “brian. brian.”

“jae. jae, look, i know you know me and you don’t, but i-”

“brian,” jae sobs, his voice shaky.

the pieces of the puzzle are connecting, solidifying into memories in jae’s head. it hurts, it hurts, it hurts. hurts of time and kisses and night, all rushing back to jae, all rushing back to jae’s head.

brian.

“brian, it hurts,” jae whispers, the tears leaking down past his cheeks uncontrollably.

“i know, jae, i know.”

“do i know you-”

“-yes, you do, and i-”

“-miss you so, so much, but i don’t even know you-”

“-you do and you don’t. i’ll tell you later-”

“-brian, i-” but jae is cut off when he meets lips against his, and god, the pain intensifies so much it reforms to relief at the closeness and the familiar warmth of it all. and god, the memories are real, real, real as brian’s hands drop the cloth and instead slide past jae’s shoulders and fist strands of his hair. real, and raw, and in the goddamn flesh.

_freely forget everything tonight._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading through this work! + leave any criticism behind, anything is welcome!

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/softtofustew_) // [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/softtofustew_) // [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/softtofustew)


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